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THE distraught members of Hongkong pop group Beyond last night vowed to carry on despite the death of lead vocalist Wong Ka-kui last week.

  Band member Yip Sai-wing appealed to Beyond fans to keep calm.

  ''Although Ka-kui has gone to a place very, very far from us, his soul is still around us,'' he said.

  ''Any songs we sing from here on are for Ka-kui. We will continue to achieve his aims and objectives.''   Wong, 31, died of a cerebral haemorrhage in Tokyo last week after falling from a stage while filming a Fuji Television comedy programme on June 24.

  The group's Japanese agent Yo Kichi Kaicho Osato said: ''I am so sorry, I am so so sorry.''   Fuji Television senior executive programming director Koh-Ichi Murakami, also in town to pay his last respects to the star, told a news conference yesterday his company had paid $1 million for Wong's funeral.

  He said he would discuss the details of compensation with Wong's family this week.

  ''We are very sincere in helping the family to get over this with all possible help. We have been paying all kinds of expenses entailed as a result of Mr Wong's unexpected death.

  ''We will discuss it after the funeral. I think Mr Wong's family is too upset at the moment to talk about it.''   He said after the tragedy Fuji Television came under severe attack from media rivals and Beyond's fans in Japan and in Hongkong.

  ''Our telephone lines were engaged night and day with calls from locals blaming us for the tragedy.

  ''A number of the calls were from Hongkong, and we couldn't understand them,'' he said.

  ''Someone must be held responsible for the tragedy. But it is still too early to hold a single person solely responsible until police finish their investigations.

  ''If it happens to be our mistake we will not deny it,'' Mr Murakami said.

  He said inspectors from Tokyo police headquarters had already taken over investigations from a regional police branch following Wong's death.

  Mr Murakami said Fuji Television would decide whether or not to shelve the controversial comedy show next week.

  During the show hosts and guests (including Beyond) were divided into two teams vying for a prize hanging over a 2.3-metre-high set. In the game teams ended up pushing each other in confusion, and this finally led to Wong's fatal fall.

  ''The anchors should be experienced enough to avoid all possible dangers. Nobody has been injured in the programme before this tragedy.''   Wong's funeral will be held tomorrow at the Hongkong Funeral Home in North Point, while a special concert to commemorate his death will take place today at the Ko Shan Theatre at 8 pm.



Beyond fans urged to remain calm